"Well, sir, who do we have here?" exclaimed his grandfather..."I reckon it's young Junior, Mother."
"Well, I declare," she said, accepting his peck on her weathered cheek.
"What's new?" Raymond asked, amused, since nothing was new over here, which was the whole appeal.
"Oh, nothing much. Lyle and his wife had them a new baby last week. A girl, was it, Mother?" She smiled and nodded and rocked...
"The creek started in to rising a couple of days ago, but I don't think it's gonna amount to much. Do you, Mother?" She smiled, shook her head no, and rocked.
"Killed me a big old copperhead in the garden patch yesterday. Musta been two feet long. Don't you guess, Mother?" She smiled, nodded, and rocked.
"Lem's blue-tick was lost for a week last month. He came in all tore up. Looked like he'd been wrassling with a bar, didn't he, Mother?" She smiled, nodded, and rocked.
"What your folks up to?" his grandfather asked.
"Oh nothing much. Same as usual. Dad's busy at the mill."
"He works too hard, don't he?"
"Well, I guess he likes to."
"That's what happens to these fellers who go off to the city. They get all caught up in it. Now they's some that like that pace, but hit didn't never appeal to me."
"I know what you mean."
"But your daddy, he always was an itchy one. 'Now just set down and relax, son' I used to tell him. But did you ever try telling a tornado to relax?" They chuckled. The sun flickered across Raymond's face as a breeze swayed the tree branches.